Unexpected Chances
by SunshineShal
Summary: I was expecting a quiet night in watching Doctor Who. How was I to know that that night wasn't going to go exactly according to plan, if a certain Time Lord landing in my apartment in a certain TARDIS was any indication? Not me!
1. Chapter 1

Let it be known that I'm a fairly sane 25 year old woman. But, I'm still not sure if I'm completely sane after that day. The day that I, Elizabeth Charlotte Barthow found out that the Doctor is, in fact, real.

The day ended like any other normal day. I waved to my co-workers as I left for the day, making sure they were all set and untangled my earbuds from my purse so I could plug them into my phone to listen to my music. I breathed in the crisp, fall air as I walked the block from the coffee shop that my parents owned to my apartment. It had been a long day of serving customers with complicated orders. Luckily for me, I'd decided to take the weekend off and let the co-manager take over. So since it was Friday, I had such a crazy Friday night planned. I was going to crash on my sofa with a glass of wine, order some takeout, and watch some well-deserved Doctor Who on Amazon prime, which was perfect for a girl in her mid-twenties. I wasn't one for going out all the time. As an introvert, I preferred doing my own thing with myself. Little did I know however, that life had other plans for me. Plans of the, shall we say, alien variety.

Later that night, I was curled up on the sofa, drinking a glass of moscato and watching season 9 of Doctor who on my TV, when an odd breeze came in, rustling some papers. Confused, I got up from my sofa to check my windows to make sure they weren't open. They weren't. I knew that that my AC wasn't on since it was chilly outside anyways. But that breeze was coming from a unexpected source that I never even figured out it would come from.

"Where the heck is that breeze coming from?" I muttered to myself.

I turned around and froze. "Hooly crap!" I whispered to myself as I saw the TARDIS materializing right in front of my eyes.

"How much wine did I drink?!" I whispered to myself in shock as I stared wide eyed at the TARDIS. "No. No way am I seeing the TARDIS in my apartment. There is no logical explanation as to why it would be here.

Nope, I'm seeing things."

Sure, like every Whovian I'd imagine myself traveling in the TARDIS with the Doctor and fighting aliens along the way. But that's all they were. Just fantasies. I was sane enough to realize that he wasn't real. Or, so I had thought. That was proven to me tonight. I was still convinced that I had possibly drank a little too much wine or had fallen asleep and was dreaming. Either way was a plausibility as I cautiously stepped towards the TARDIS. I hesitantly reached out my hand and touched the wood.

"Well, it certainly feels real." I said to myself as I walked around it.

What I hadn't realized was that the Doctor himself had walked out and was leaning against one of my walls, watching in amusement as I walked around the TARDIS mumbling to myself. I didn't realize that the Doctor was in my apartment (granted, I also didn't know what incarnation I'd get or even if I'd get one from the show) and was considering just knocking on the door when I heard him clear his throat. I jumped a little bit and turned, only to see a man with spiky brown hair and warm brown eyes grinning at me. He was wearing a brown pinstriped suit and beige chucks. Despite the fact that I was completely stunned beyond belief and still doubting that he was actually in my apartment, I couldn't help but feel a little thrill. 10 was my favorite Doctor. Not that I didn't love the other Doctors (or at least the ones I'd seen. I hadn't had chance to venture that much into classic who) but I just took a huge liking to 10.

"Hello!" He said cheerfully.

"Wha- how?" I said, barely getting out those words. Needless to say, this wasn't turning out to be a normal night.

"Ah, you're probably wondering how I'm here, aren't you?" He asked.

"Uh huh." I managed to get out. "How is it possible that you're here? Unless I'm dreaming or I have had a little too much wine and I'm hallucinating."

The Doctor was clearly amused at my little rant. "Trust me. You're not dreaming or hallucinating." He said, chuckling. "I am 100% real. As you probably know by now, there are parallel worlds and you live in a world where I just happen to be a character in a TV show."

"But I mean, how can you be here. I thought you couldn't travel to other parallel worlds." I said, using my knowledge of the show.

"Some parallel worlds you can travel to and this just happens to be one of them." The Doctor said.

"Ok then." I said, slowly, trying to take it all in. "But why me? It's not like I'm anyone special."

"Oi! Who said you weren't special?!" The Doctor asked, a little bit offended. "Of course you're special. You have the potential to do great things."

At that, I looked down sheepishly at the floor. I probably should have expected that answer. One of the reasons I loved that show was because it showed so much of the human spirit and the Doctor was always trying to show ordinary people that they were so much more than what they gave themselves credit for. But again, it's not like I was ever expecting him to tell me that since I'd always thought it was just a tv show. But clearly it wasn't.

"So wait...are you actually asking me if I want to travel with you?" I asked, trying to contain my excitement. How many times had I dreamed of traveling with the Doctor? How many times had a part of me hoped that I'd hear the sound of the TARDIS, not just on my phone but in real life? And now it was actually happening. Not just in my dreams or my fantasies.

"Welll, that is, if you want to." The Doctor said.

"I would love to!" I said, then realized how crazy this all was. The fact that this has become a reality started to set in. "I mean, I think I need some time to get over the fact that you're real. But, can I at least go into the TARDIS right now and see it?" I asked, hopefully.

"'Course you can." The Doctor said, cheerfully. He opened the door and I cautiously stepped in.

"It really is bigger on the inside!" I whispered as I walked around the console room.

The Doctor grinned. "Of course it is!" He said. "Were you really that surprised?"

"Well, considering that up to now, I didn't even know the TARDIS or you were actually real. So yeah. Kind of a little surprised." I said and looked up again.

I honestly never realized how huge the inside actually was until I actually walked in. Suddenly the enormity of the TARDIS hit me and also another thing hit me. If he was real, that meant that all the aliens from Doctor Who were most likely real as well. It was starting to get a little bit too overwhelming. The doctor looked up at me at I leaned against one of the walls.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"I think so." I said. The Doctor gave me a look and I amended my statement. "Ok, maybe not. It's just that I never thought that a TV show could actually be real. And I'm assuming that all the aliens are real, right?"

The Doctor nodded his head. "Unfortunately, yes." He said solemnly.

"That's what I thought." I said. "To be honest, this is all going to take some time to think about." I said.

"Welll, I can always come back for you, if you want." The Doctor said.

"I think that would be for the best. Not that I haven't always dreamed of traveling with you, but I just found out about you tonight." I said as I walked over to the door. "Just give me some time and I should be fine."

"Take all the time you need." He said, smiling.

I waved and stepped out the door. A few seconds later, I watched in amazement as the TARDIS dematerialized out of my apartment. I shook my head in wonder as I sat back down and tried to get back into watching Doctor who, but I couldn't. I guess no one could after finding out that the Doctor wasn't, in fact fiction, but real. I sighed and turned off the tv, finally deciding to go to bed. Tomorrow was another day. Maybe by that time I'd get over it, but I was doubtful.

 **I realize that I have many fanfics going right now, but this idea wouldn't get out of my head. I wanted to try writing a fanfic where the main character is a woman from our world who finds out that the Doctor is real. Also, I like to think I'd have the same reaction at seeing the TARDIS that Elizabeth has.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, I'd also like to state that my character's name came from my middle name, which I'm pretty sure was one of the most common middle names for baby girls in 1991. But, I digress and will now let you continue on your reading. Enjoy!**

The next morning, sunlight streamed in my bedroom as I woke up. I grinned and stretched in my bed as I remembered the amazing dream I had last night.

"That was such a great dream." I said to myself as I snuggled in my comforter. I had dreamed about meeting the 10th Doctor. Or at least I thought I'd dreamed it. "Too bad it's not real. That would really make my day." Well, day actually made.

I was still snuggled up in my comforter, scrolling through my phone, when I heard a noise coming from somewhere in the apartment. My first thought was that it was my best friend and roommate, Ashley. She was getting her PhD in psychology, so often times she'd come in late (or early) from studying in the library. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen her in a few days, but I just assumed I'd missed her coming and going. I quickly got out of bed and walked out of the room.

"Ash?" I called out. "You home?" But there was no answer.

I shivered, despite the fact that I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, sweats, and socks. My senses alert, I made my way to the living room, where I neglected to see that there was something in there that had not been put there by me. I heard even more noise that seemed to be coming from the kitchen. I advanced to the corner of the doorway leaning to my tiny kitchen and peeked in, where I did see someone in there. I couldn't tell what they were doing, but whoever was in there appeared to be making something. Which was odd, because if it was a burglar, then why would they take the time to make breakfast or anything else for that matter? I was contemplating whether to call the police, confronting whoever was in my apartment, or both, when they spoke.

"Oh good. You're up! Good morning!" They said cheerfully in a very familiar voice.

Startled, I let out a small scream and jumped a bit before actually focusing on who had spoken. It turned out to be the Doctor. "You were this close to giving me a heart attack." I said, taking a few deep breaths and trying to slow down my racing heart. "Why couldn't you just say that you were here? I thought you were a burglar."

"What? I thought you'd like some tea." He said, walking out and handing me one of the two mugs he had in his hand."

"Um, thanks." I said, taking it from him. "That's nice and all, but it's a little bit rude to just barge into someone's kitchen and start making things. I continued. I then noticed the TARDIS near the coffee table and realization started to hit. "Wait...you're real." I said slowly.

"Oi! Of course I'm real! Didn't we already cover this last night when I landed in your apartment?" The Doctor asked, a little miffed.

"You're real. I didn't just dream that." I said, ignoring him. "Ok, the Doctor just handed me a mug of tea...in my apartment. This is the weirdest thing ever." I said, pacing around the carpet. I continued muttering to myself when I looked up to notice the Doctor, who was clearly entertained with what I was currently doing. I stopped pacing and muttering. "Ok, I need to sit down. This is all just way too much for me." I said, as I sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

"You also might want to drink that tea before it gets cold." He said, winking at me as he sat down across from me.

We looked at each other in silence for a while while drinking our tea. I had to admit that it was pretty good. I still couldn't get over the fact that I was sitting across from my favorite Doctor from my favorite TV show. I was definitely chalking this up as the strangest experience of my life. Nothing else could top it, which would make sense considering the fact that it's not really a common occurrence to find out fictional characters are actually real. Then, another thought popped into my head.

"Wait. Do you even know my name? I probably should have introduced myself last night but I was too shocked. My name's-" I started.

"Elizabeth Barthow, but everyone calls you Liz." The Doctor said, smirking as he looked at my astonished expression.

"How? How did you know that?!" I asked in a shocked voice. "You know what, never mind. I don't even know why I'm so shocked." I said. There was something else, though. For some reason I was getting an odd feeling, like he wasn't there to just have me travel with him.

"Was there something you wanted to ask me?" The Doctor asked me, almost like he knew what I was about to ask him.

"Why are you really here?" I blurted out. "Yes, I know you said you wanted me to travel with you, but there's something else, isn't there? Something alien's going on. You wouldn't just come here if there weren't."

"Oh, you're brilliant!" The Doctor said, grinning at me.

"Well, you don't watch Doctor Who without picking up a few things." I said.

"You're right. There is something going on. Have you noticed any strange things going on?" He asked me, the grin replaced by a serious expression.

I tried to think. "Well, I know on the news they've been talking about missing people and my roommate's been gone for a few days, but that's not so unusual since she practically lives at the library studying." I noticed the Doctor's solemn expression and suddenly knew something was wrong. "She's not at the library, is she?" I asked with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"Ah. Well." The doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Doctor, tell me what happened to her or I swear I'll do something that will possibly make you regenerate." I said in a steely voice, glaring at him. Ok, so maybe I could have been less angry, but I was scared. I was scared that something had happened to my best friend. And I was trying to hide that fear by getting angry.

Somehow though, the Doctor knew I was scared and let out a long sigh. "No. She's not at the library. She's one of the missing." He said as gently as possibly, looking at me.

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "Oh no. No no no no no." I said, starting to freak out. Well, you'd freak out too if you found out that your best friend was missing. And I knew that it had something to do with aliens. I started pacing around my apartment again. "It's the weeping angels, isn't it?" I asked in a scared voice. "And now I'll never see her again."

"No. it's not the weeping angels." The Doctor said, trying to reassure me. "Although, the cases where someone mysteriously vanishes, now that's the cause of the weeping angels."

"I knew it." I said. "I knew they were real." It was small consolation to know that all my staring at statues paid off. "but then who took all those people?"

"That I don't know yet." The Doctor said, looking at me. "But I promise you, we'll find out who it is and I will save them. I need you to not give up here."

I looked into those compassionate brown eyes and I marveled at how ancient they were. Sure, from the show, I knew that he was old and had been through a lot, but there was a difference seeing it in real life. Seeing eyes that held so much happiness and sadness. I'd always wanted to know what encouragement from the Doctor would be like and now I was getting it. In that instant, I knew that he was right. Whatever happened, he would find them and save them, like he did most people.

"Ok." I said softly.

"Good!" He said, patting me on the shoulder. "Now, come on!" He said, as he grabbed my hand and dragged me to the TARDIS.

"Wait! I have to change!" I yelled.

"You can change in the TARDIS!" He said impatiently. "Come on, then!" He said, as he unlocked the door and pulled me in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Again, none of this in any way is connected to my life, obviously. Except for me naming my character with my middle name. But everything else is purely coincidental. Also, a disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did, we wouldn't be having withdrawals. Now, onward!**

"Um, do you actually know where whatever or whoever took Ashley is?" I asked the Doctor as I followed him over to the monitor. He started putting something into the monitor as I sat down in the pilot chair next to him.

Either the Doctor was choosing to ignore me, or he just hadn't heard me, because he was muttering to himself. I leaned back in the chair and got comfy. I tried to keep up with what he was saying, but after awhile, I started to zone out a bit. You would too if you were listening to the Doctor muttering about things you couldn't even understand. I also started to fall asleep. That is, until the Doctor let out a huge "AHA!", causing me to wake up abruptly and flail around because I was about to fall out of the chair. I sat back up and noticed the Doctor, who appeared to have finished looking at the monitor and also muttering to himself, looking at me with amusement.

"Awake now, are we?" He asked.

"Yes. I'm fully awake." I said. "I promise I won't go dozing off again.

"Good. Just checking." He said, grinning.

"So you know where we're going now?" I asked, now fully awake.

"Yup!" He said. I watched as he ran around the console, flipping levers and hitting buttons with a hammer. It was so odd seeing him do this right in front of me and not on the screen. "Allons-y!" He said as he flipped a lever and the time rotor began moving and those wheezing groaning sounds began.

I couldn't help but grin at that. Never in a million years would I ever hear those words in person, but yet here we were. Never would I have imagined that I would actually be traveling in the TARDIS. I'd always wondered what it would be like, but again, it was always just fantasy. Now, I was actually in the TARDIS, traveling through the time vortex. I also couldn't help but groan a bit as I promptly fell on the ground. To be honest, I probably should have expected that to happen. A few seconds later, the TARDIS landed with a groan and I was still on the floor.

"Er, sorry about that." The Doctor said, as he helped me up. "Ride's a bit bumpy."

"Eh. I've been through worse." I said, as I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up. "Now, can I please get changed? I know you have a wardrobe room in here somewhere."

"Down those stairs and to the right." He said.

"Thanks." I said, as I followed his directions. Or at least attempted to. It was a little bit challenging navigating the halls, but luckily the TARDIS was kind enough to help me. One of the hallways lit up, so I went that way. "Thanks." I whispered. I put a hand on the walls and felt a soothing humming. Yup, the TARDIS was definitely alive. I smiled to myself as I continued walking down the hallway. I finally found myself in the right spot and walked in. "Holy crap! This is huge." I said as I entered.

It was massive. For some reason, I never expected it to be that big. There were all types of clothing and I found myself overwhelmed at the choices. After a while, I finally found a pair of jeans, a mint green long sleeved shirt, and a pair of dark blue slip on shoes. After getting dressed, I made my way back to the console room, which took less time because I actually knew where I was going.

"Well, that took a while." The Doctor remarked as I entered the console room.

"Hey. It's not like I was expecting it to be that huge or have that many clothes in it." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well, I never know when I'll need a change of clothes. Wellll, me or my companions." He said, grinning at me. Although, I could definitely detect sadness in that grin.

Briefly, I wondered how much of the show had been true. I wondered if any of the companions on the show were actually real. Clearly, the real version of the Doctor had lost a lot as well, if his eyes were any indication, but how much had he lost? Honestly, there was so much I wanted to know. Which, I did think I was entitled to considering that I just found out the night before that the Doctor wasn't a fictional character. However, I knew better than to ask right now, since we were on a rescue mission to save people from aliens. The fact that this was my life right now wasn't lost on me. Who'd have thought that I'd be about to fight aliens with the Doctor. Not me, that's for sure. I shook myself out of my reverie and focused on the situation at hand.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"It appears we've landed at Trueadale technologies." The Doctor said, looking at the monitor.

"I know what that is." I said. They were a company that sold most of the computers used in a lot of the labs around town and some of the other businesses. Whenever I passed the imposing building, I always shivered because there was something so odd about it. Now I knew why.

"Well, shall we do some investigating, then?" The Doctor asked, grabbing his trench coat from a coral piece, slipping it on, and opening the doors to the TARDIS.

"Lead the way, Doctor." I said, grinning. I was definitely starting to get a little bit excited. Was I terrified? Of course I was. I'd just recently found out that aliens existed, especially the ones from the show. Heck, I didn't even know if the aliens that took everyone were aliens from the show. And they had my best friend. So yes, I was frightened. But despite that, there was something so thrilling about doing some alien investigating with my favorite Doctor who, up until last night, I'd only thought of as a fictional character. Life was definitely weird. Plus, if it meant doing some good in this world, I was going to take it.


End file.
